A European regulator hit Facebook parent company Meta with a fine of 265 million euros, or more than $276 million, as punishment after data on more than half a billion users was "scraped" and leaked online.

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission said Meta Platforms failed to protect users’ date, violating sections of the EU’s strict General Data Protection Regulation.

The investigation was opened last year following reports that data on more than 533 million users, including names, Facebook IDs, phone numbers, locations, birth dates, and email addresses for people from more than 100 countries was found dumped online.

The data, which was found on a website for hackers, had been "scraped" from Facebook by using tools designed to help people find their friends through phone numbers using search and contact import features, Meta said.

The Irish watchdog said it investigated scraping carried out between May 2018 and September 2019.

Meta said it had "cooperated fully" with the investigation.

"We made changes to our systems during the time in question, including removing the ability to scrape our features in this way using phone numbers," Meta said in a statement. "Unauthorized data scraping is unacceptable and against our rules."

Along with the fine, the commission said it also imposed on Meta a "range of corrective measures," which were not specified.

Previously, the Irish watchdog fined Meta-owned Instagram 405 million euros in September after it found that the platform mishandled teenagers’ personal information. Meta was fined 17 million-euro fines in March for its handling of a dozen data breach notifications.